Mixing apparatus



7 June 4, 1935. A. c. GILBERT 2,003,931

MIXING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1953 [6 l3 7 i I IO 40 H h H 20 4 4Patented June 4, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE to The A. 0. GilbertCompany,

New Haven,

Conn., a corporation of Maryland Application October 9, 1933, Serial No.692,745

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a. mixing apparatus and more especially to anapparatus for churning, heating or otherwise mixing materials of asemi-plastic nature, such as cake batters, frostings, candies, cream,etc.

In my prior patent for mixing apparatus, No. 1,781,381 of November 11,1930, I have disclosed and claimed a portable type of mixing apparatusadapted for churning, heating or otherwise mixing materials of a plasticstate. The machine described in my prior patent includes a base on whicha container for the material may rest during the mixing process, anupright supported on the base and in turn forming a support for a pairof horizontal arms on which a vertical motor rests. Extending downwardlyfrom the motor and adapted to enter the container is a beating orwhipping device driven by the motor. The apparatus of'the presentinvention takes a somewhat similar form but differs therefrom in thatprovision is made for bringing the beating element or elements into moreintimate contact with all portions of the material being mixed, and inthat provision is made for rotating the container in 25 either directionand at various speeds as the requirements of mixing demand.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a form ofmixing apparatus in which a relatively large amount of semi-plasticmaterial 30 may be properly and thoroughly mixed or beaten.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mixing apparatus inwhich a relative movement between the mixing or beating element and thecontainer for the material is produced to insure an intimate contact ofthe beating element with all parts of the material.

In a more specific aspect it is an object of the invention to provide amixing apparatus in which a rotatable container for the material may berotated in either direction and at various speeds in an inexpensive andelficient manner, and as desired or required by the material being mixedor beaten.

A feature of the invention resides in a form of apparatus in which themixing element comprising oppositely rotatable members and the containerare adjustable with respect to each other so that various relativemovements may be produced. by the action of the mixing element orelements on the material between the element and the container andwithoutthe necessity of providing additional mechanical means forproducing such motion.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel featuresand combinations 01' parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of a mixingapparatus according to my in- 5 vention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line 2-2 of Fig. 1. but on areduced scale;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken along line 33 of Fig. 2, but onan enlarged scale, and 10 Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line4-4 of Fig. 1, but on an enlarged scale.

Referring then to the drawing in which I have illustrated my inventionby showing a preferred embodiment of the same, the reference numeral I0indicates in general the improved mixing apparatus which to a certainextent takes the form of that disclosed in my prior patent and includesa base H, provided with feet l2, and a boss I3 formed near the edge ofthe base, a rod l4 being mounted in boss l3 and secured against movementtherein by a thumb screw l5. The upper end of rod It extends through aboss IE on horizontal motor'support I 1, an electric motor l8 resting onthe upper surface thereof, the boss I6 having a threaded opening inwhich a thumb screw l 9 is mounted and adapted to bear against rod M tohold the support l1 against movement.

On the lower end of motor I8 is a reduction gearing 20, herein not shownin detail, from which extends a motor driven gear 44 which, bycooperation with a pair of gears 45, one secured to each of beaters 2|and 22, drives the latter in opposite directions. The beaters 2| and 22extend downwardly in the direction of base I l. The 5 apparatusdescribed up to this point is substantially identical with thatdisclosed in my prior patent which may be referred to for a morecomplete description thereof. Herein I shall confine myself to thosefeatures which distinguish my present invention from that of my priorpatent.

Formed on base H diametrically opposite boss i3 is a boss 23 having avertical opening 24 in which a stem 25 of hollow stud 26 is received,stem 25 being freely removable from opening 24. The reference numeral 21indicates a mixing bowl herein formed of metal and having an inwardlydished conical part 28 formed centrally of the bottom or base 29thereof, the fiat upper end 30 of the cone being bored at 3| for thereception of stem 32 of verticalstud 33. On the upper end of stud 33 isa head 34 engaging the upper face of the flat upper end 30 of cone 28, awasher 35 being driven or otherwise secured on stem 32 and cooperatingwith head 34 to grip the bowl 2'! therebetween.

The stem 32 is provided at its lower end with a conical point 36 whichrests in the countersunk bottom 31 of axially directed openings 38 ofstud 26, and near its upper end the stem 32 is provided with a bearingsurface 39 of proper diameter to permit the free rotation of the stem 32in opening 38.

Near the upper end of rod I4 is a washer 4|! supported on a pin 4|, inthis instance a cotter pin, the washer 40 serving to support the memberI when the thumb screw I9 is loosened, the position of washer 40 on rodM being such that the beating or mixing elements 2| and 22 are carriedat a proper distance above the base 29 of bowl 21.

In carrying out the features'and objects of this invention it ispreferable that the bowl or container 21 be circular in form and of adiameter considerably larger than the diameter of the circle describedby either of the elements 2| or 22 when they are rotated, so that thearcuate adjustment of these elements in respect to the bowl will be ofsufficient extent to permit a comparatively wide variation in the actionof the elements on the material, and through it a desirable variation ofthe rotational speed of the bowl.

Arcuate adjustments of the elements 21 and 22 about the rod l4 mayreadily be made to dispose the elements 2| and 22 so that either of themwill be closely adjacent the wall of the bowl, or both of them equallyspaced therefrom. Intermediate position between the last positionreferred to and the extreme positions adjacent the bowl wall arepermitted for the elements 2| and 22, and when made, vary the action ofthe elements on the material and on the rotational speed of the bowl.

When the elements 2| and 22 are in the position as shown in full linesin Fig. 2, and the element 2| is rotating in the direction indicated byarrow 50, its action upon the material in the bowl is such as to rotatethe bowl about its pivot in a direction indicated by arrow 5| and at amaximum speed of rotation somewhat dependent upon the constituency ofthe material being mixed. The rotation of the bowl is caused by theblades of element 2| acting in cooperation with the material adjacentthe bowl wall and which tends to adhere thereto. This action is somewhatsimilarto the meshing of the teeth of two cooperating gears.Differentiating from actual gear action, however, and due partly to theconstituency of the material being mixed, the difl'erence in diameterbetween the element and the bowl at its wall produces, when element 2|is disposed farther from the wall, a slower speed of bowl rotation, theeifect of the rotation in an opposite direction of element 22 in thematerial also acting to partly slow up the rotation of the bowl.

When the element 22 which rotates in an opposite direction than that ofelement 2|, as indicated by dotted arrow 52, is disposed closer to thebowl wall, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the bowl will berotated in the direction indicated by dotted arrow 53. It is obvious,therefore, that the novel structural combination disclosed above isadapted for use to thoroughly mix or beat the material in the bowl whilerotating the bowl in either direction and at variable speeds, and to somix or beat the material without causing rotation of the bowl, and thatthese mixing actions may be produced without the intervention of anymechanical means or devices. The rotary motion given the bowl as abovedescribed, brings fresh portions of the material into contact with thebeating elements 2| and 22, thus providing for a thorough mixing of allparts of the material.

If desired, the bowl 21 and stud 28 may be readily detached from thebase whereupon the mixing apparatus may be used with containers ofvarious other forms. The stem 32 is carried entirely within the conicaldished out part 28 so that the bowl may rest on its base when removedfrom the mixing apparatus without interference from the stem in theparticular instance shown, the bottom 29 of the bowl being provided witha plurality of radially directed ribs 42 on which it rests when removedfrom base While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all ofthe details shown, but is capable of modification and variation withinthe spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a bowl mounted on said base for freerotation thereon, a stirring device comprising a pair of oppositelyrotatable elements, means to support said stirring device, and means toadjust said supporting means in a horizontal plane to dispose saidstirring device with one of the elements thereof closer to the wall ofsaid bowl than the other element to cause rotation of said bowl in onedirection during the beating operation, and to adjust said supportingmeans to dispose the other element in like position in respect to thebowl wall to cause rotation of the bowl in the other direction.

2. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a bowl mounted on said base for freerotation thereon, a stirring device comprising a pair of oppositelyrotatable elements, means to support said stirring device, and means toadjust said supporting means to dispose said stirring device with one ofthe elements thereof closer to the wall of said bowl than the otherelement to cause rotation of said bowl in one direction during thebeating operation, and to adjust said supporting means to dispose theother element in like position in respect to the bowl wall to causerotation of the bowl in the other direction, and to adjust saidsupporting means to disposed both of the elements equally spaced fromthe wall of the bowl to prevent rotation thereof in either direction.

3, In a mixing apparatus, a base, a bowl, a mounting for said bowl onsaid base providing for the free rotation of the bowl on the base, anupright member extending upwardly from the base at a point laterally ofthe bowl, a stirring element depending into the bowl in a region betweensaid upright member and the axis of rotation of the bowl, said stirringelement being motor driven and comprising oppositely rotating heaters,and means for mounting said stirring element on said upright member sothat said element can be swung in a horizontal arcuate path from acentral position in which it is alined with the bowl axis and uprightmember to a position adjacent the wall of the bowl at one side thereoffor rotating the bowl in one direction through the action of the heaterson material in the bowl or to a position adjacent the wall of the bowlat the opposite side thereof for producing rotation of the bowl in theopposite direction.

4. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a bowl supported on said base for freerotation thereon, an upright member extending from the base in alocation at one side of the bowl, a pair of duplex beaters havingoverlapping paths of rotation and adjustable relatively to said uprightmember so oppositely driven depending into said bowl in a as to swingsaid heaters in a horizontal arcuate region between said upright memberand the path to bring one or the other thereof into proxaxis of rotationof the bowl, and means for mountimity to the bowl wall at one or theother side 5 ing said heaters from the upper part of said upof the bowlto efie'ct rotation of the bowl in 5 right member comprising a bracketmember overopposite directions as desired. hanging the bowl, saidbracket member being ALFRED C. GILBERT.

